Euphrosyne from Polatsk

Cyrillic ( Belarusian )
	Ефрасіння / Эўфрасіньня Полацкая
Łacinka :	Jefrasinnia / Eŭfrasińnia Polackaja
Transl. :	Efrasinnja / Ėŭfrasin'nja Polackaja
Transcr. :	Eufrassinnja / Eufrassinnja Polatskaya
Cyrillic ( Russian )
	Ефросинья Полоцкая
Transl .:	Efrosin'ja Polockaya
Transcr .:	Efrosina Polotskaya

The altar cross made for Euphrosyne

Euphrosyne von Polatsk (* probably 1110 in Polatsk , † 1173 in Jerusalem ) is considered the patron saint of the Belarusians .

Euphrosyne of Polatsk (Icon)

Euphrosyne was an outstanding personality within a Christian, cultural and educational movement in what was then the Principality of Polatsk , worked as a translator and promoted art and culture. In what is now Belarus , she was the first woman to be recognized as a saint at that time.

biography

Euphrosyne was the daughter of the Polatsk Prince Georgi Usjaslavich and was actually called Pradslawa (Russian: Predslawa). When she became a nun (against her parents' wishes), she took the name Euphrosyne. As a young nun, she was mainly busy copying religious works from the holdings of the library belonging to the Polatsk St. Sophia Cathedral, primarily translations from Greek.

She later founded nunneries and monasteries in Polatsk and initiated the construction of the Church of the Holy Savior (Belarus: царква святога Спаса) in 1160, where she had her own cell and which today bears her name: Euphrosyne Savior Church (Belarus. Спаса-Ефрасіннеўская царква). This church was richly decorated with frescoes of great cultural and historical value . On behalf of Euphrosyne, the Polatsk master Lasar Bohscha made an altar cross for the Church of the Redeemer in 1161. This work of art made of cypress wood, set with exquisite gemstones and decorated with depictions of the Evangelists , but also of the Euphrosynes, has since been considered the most valuable national relic of the Belarusians. It disappeared during World War II and has not reappeared to this day, despite extensive efforts, including by official bodies.

Towards the end of her life, Euphrosyne went on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem , where she also died. Her wish was to be buried in the monastery of St. Sabas. However, since this is a monastery, their request was not granted. Her bones were initially kept in the Theodosius Church in Jerusalem and probably brought to Kiev in 1187 , where they were buried in the famous Pechersk Lavra. In the 19th century a denominational instrumentalization of Euphrosynes could be observed. Polack was in denominational competition. Jews, Catholics and Orthodox shared the public space and the Orthodox population had been pushed into the background. After the last partitions of Poland-Lithuania, the Orthodox state church tried to claim dominance over the sacred space of the city for itself. The local clerics quickly recognized the importance of the Euphrosyne cult and tried to bring the remains of Euphrosyne from Kiev to Polack. It wasn't until 1870 that Polack succeeded in getting her middle finger. In 1910 the transfer from Kiev to Polack was ceremoniously carried out in the presence of the tsarist family and the Greek dynasty. The bones were brought to Orsha by ship across the Dnieper and on to Polack by land. Churches were built along the route in advance. An example of such a chapel on the Dnieper can be found in Rechyza , for example . Until 2006 Euphrosynes bones lay in the Church of the Savior Transfiguration in the monastery in Polack. Due to renovation work on the frescoes there, they were reburied in the neighboring church of the Exaltation of the Cross of the monastery.

A detailed description of the holy life of Euphrosyne of Polatsk can be found in the work "Жыціе Ефрасінні Полацкай" (Russian: "Житие Ефросиньи Полоцкой", German: " The life of the Euphrosyne ") by. This text, which was probably written soon after her death, but whose oldest surviving copy dates from the 14th century, is one of the most important early Orthodox testimonies in the territory of Belarus, which not only describes the life of Saint Euphrosyne, but also one Proof of the high intellectual culture in the then Principality of Polatsk is. This text embodies the ideals of Euphrosyne von Polatsk: the importance of knowledge, the love of books, the spiritual and religious perfection of man and the unselfish service of high moral ideals.

Web links

Commons : Euphrosyne von Polatsk  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Life and work on slounik.org (Belarusian)
• Life and Work (English)
• 150 questions and answers about Belarusian history (Belarusian)
• Ten Centuries of Belarusian History (Belarusian)
• Who was Euphrosyne of Polatsk? (Polish)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Kerstin S. Jobst: Eŭfrasinnja of Polack, patroness of Belarus . In: Joachim Bahlcke, Stefan Rohdewald, Thomas Wünsch (Ed.): Religious places of remembrance in East Central Europe. Constitution and competition across nations and eras. De Gruyter, Berlin 2013, p. 575 .
2. ^ Kerstin S. Jobst: In the context of hagiography and national discourses: The Vita of Evrosinija von Polack . In: Historical magazine . No. 284 , 2007, pp. 335-336 .
3. ↑ Kerstin S. Jobst: Eŭfrasinnja of Polack, patroness of Belarus . In: Joachim Bahlcke, Stefan Rohdewald, Thomas Wünsch (Ed.): Religious places of remembrance in East Central Europe. Constitution and competition across nations and eras. De Gruyter, Berlin 2013, p. 578 .
4. ↑ Часовня Евфросинии Полоцкой (Russian). In: tut.by. Retrieved August 28, 2018 (Russian). 
5. ↑ Спасо-Преображенский храм Полоцкого Спасо-Евфросиниевского монастыря. In: Website of the monastery in Polack. Retrieved August 29, 2018 (Russian).